Illinois Democrat Duckworth to run for U.S. Senate in 2016

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Tammy
Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, will run for the U.S. Senate in
2016, saying in a video posted to her website on Monday that she
would "fight my heart out" for constituents.

Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran who lost both legs in a
helicopter crash, was elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives in 2012 and previously was an assistant
secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In Congress, she serves on armed services and government
oversight committees.

In the video, Duckworth said she sponsored legislation to
keep lawmakers from getting paid if they could not agree on a
federal government budget, and she said she returned $10,000 of
her own pay and cut her office's budget.

"It's time for Washington to be held accountable," Duckworth
said.

She will challenge current U.S. Senator Mark Kirk, a
Republican who joined the Senate in 2010. Democrats had
discussed Duckworth as a potential challenger because she is
well-known nationally for her personal story and could be a
formidable fundraiser.

Duckworth also said in the video that her father had lost
his job at age 55 and that her family had gone on food stamps
for a period.

She called for a renewed focus on programs to help families,
such as more pre-kindergarten programs for children, cheaper
college loans and tax cuts for small businesses.